CHENNAI: A three-year-old girl was hospitalised after falling into an under-construction stormwater drain at Maruthi Nagar in Thoraipakkam on Tuesday evening. The girl, U Pradheesha, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Sholinganallur and her condition is stable, the police said.
Thoraipakkam police said Pradheesha was playing outside her house around 7pm on Tuesday when she accidentally slipped through the gap in the barricades and fell into the drain. Since it had rained in the morning, the drain was filled with water to the brim.
“Even though the Chennai Corporation workers had placed the barricades, the gaps between were wide enough for a three-year-old child to pass through. After Pradheesha fell, neighbours spotted her struggling in the drain on their CCTV camera. They rushed to her rescue,” police told TNIE.
Pradheesha’s condition is stable, but the doctors have placed her under constant observation, police added. They suspect that since the girl had swallowed contaminated water from the drain, it could lead to infections. Her condition has improved since last night.
Corporation officials who inspected the construction site said that the portion where the accident happened was part of a 49m storm water drain construction.
“In order to avoid such accidents in future, we have instructed staff to make sure that the barricades have no gaps,” an official said.